Author: Suzan Fraser
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Cheap but lethal Turkish drones bolster Ukraine’s defenses
ANKARA, Turkey • Despite three weeks of Russian bombardment, Ukraine has kept up a stiff defense of its cities by using Turkish-made drones to carry out pop-up attacks on the invaders with a lethal effectiveness that has surprised Western military experts. The Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles, which carry lightweight, laser-guided bombs, normally excel in…
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U.S.: new intel shows Russia plotting false flag attack
WASHINGTON • The U.S. accused the Kremlin on Thursday of an elaborate plot to fabricate an attack by Ukrainian forces that Russia could use as a pretext to take military action against its neighbor. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the scheme included production of a graphic propaganda video that would show staged explosions and use…
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Russia, Turkey reach cease-fire deal in northwestern Syria
MOSCOW • The presidents of Russia and Turkey said they reached agreement on a cease-fire to begin at midnight Thursday in northwestern Syria, where escalating fighting had threatened to put forces from the two countries into direct conflict. The deal struck by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also would set…
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Tensions on rise: Turkish soldiers killed in Syria
ANKARA, Turkey • Two Turkish soldiers were killed Thursday in an airstrike in northwestern Syria, Turkey said, after an attack by Ankara-backed opposition forces that targeted Syrian government troops. The deaths came after the Turkish president threatened to expand his nation’s involvement in Syria if another one of his troops were hurt. At least 15…
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Rebels shoot down Syrian helicopter as fighting intensifies
BEIRUT • Rebels shot down a Syrian military helicopter in northern Syria on Tuesday, killing its crew members in a fiery crash, while the government kept up its relentless bombing campaign on the opposition-held region, with an airstrike in which seven civilians died, activists and news reports said. The violence in Idlib province came as…
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Istanbul: Airliner skids off runway; 3 dead, 179 injured
ISTANBUL • A Turkish airliner skidded off a runway, crashed into a ditch and broke apart while landing in bad weather in Istanbul on Wednesday, killing three people and injuring dozens. Passengers had to scramble through the split fuselage to escape. The aircraft, operated by low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines, was arriving at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen…
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Russia, Turkey seal power in northeast Syria with new accord
ANKARA, Turkey • Russia and Turkey reached an agreement Tuesday that would cement their power in Syria, deploying their forces across nearly its entire northeastern border to fill the void left by President Donald Trump’s abrupt withdrawal of U.S. forces. The accord caps a dramatic and swift transformation of the Syrian map unleashed by Trump’s…
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Changing story again, Saudi Arabia says killing was planned
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi prosecutors say the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was planned, state-run media reported Thursday, reflecting yet another change in the shifting Saudi Arabian account of what happened to the writer who was killed by Saudi officials in their Istanbul consulate. Saudi Attorney General Saud al-Mojeb said investigators concluded that Khashoggi’s…
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Video shows ‘body double’ after writer’s killing
ISTANBUL • Just hours after writer Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, a man strolled out of the diplomatic post apparently wearing the columnist’s clothes as part of a macabre deception to sow confusion over his fate, according to surveillance video leaked Monday. The new video broadcast by CNN, as well…
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Saudi phone calls, ‘body double’ after Khashoggi killing
ANKARA, Turkey — A man appearing to wear Jamal Khashoggi’s clothes left the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul following his killing there, according to a surveillance video, while a member of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s entourage made four calls to the royal’s office around the same time, reports said Monday. The reports by CNN…